Electrical contact terminal and connector

ABSTRACT

Hermaphroditic electrical terminal comprises web having sidewalls extending from the longitudinal edges thereof. Means extend from one end of the web for securing the terminal to a conductor and contact springs are provided at the other end of the terminal. These contact springs comprise planar extensions of the sidewalls which project forwardly and are reversely bent inwardly and towards the rearward end of the terminal in converging relationship to the axis thereof. Two electrical terminals of this type can be mated with each other by positioning them in opposed inverted relationship and moving them together so that one contact spring and one sidewall of each terminal are received between the contact springs of the other terminal. Terminals disclosed can also receive other electrical contact terminals of types that are commonly used on the present day computer and peripheral computer equipment. A connector housing is also disclosed having cavities which are adapted to receive electrical terminals in accordance with the invention.

'ilnited States Patent [1 1 Henschen et al.

{45] May 8, 1973 [54] ELECTRICAL CONTACT TERMINAL AND CONNECTOR [75]Inventors: Homer Ernst Henschen, Carlisle;

Clyde Thomas Carter, Mechanicsburg, both of Pa.

[52] US. Cl. ..339/49 R, 339/65, 339/92 M, 339/103 M, 339/176 M, 339/217S, 339/258 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,173,737 3/1965Kinkaid et al ..339/176 MP 3,371,307 2/1968 Backholm et al. .....339/l7LM X 3,335,393 8/1967 Anderson ..339/176 MP X 3,208,030 9/1965 Evans etal........... ..339/47 R 3,310,772 3/1967 Kirk et al ..339/217 S FOREIGNPATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 930,509 7/1963 Great Britain ..339/49 R PrimaryExaminer-Marvin A. Champion Assistant ExaminerTerrell P. LewisAtt0meyWilliam J. Keating, Ronald D. Grefe, Gerald K. Kita, Frederick W.Raring, Jay L. Seitchik, John R. Flanagan and Allan B. Osborne [57]ABSTRACT Hermaphroditic electrical terminal comprises web havingsidewalls extending from the longitudinal edges thereof. Means extendfrom one end of the web for securing the terminal to a conductor andcontact springs are provided at the other end of the terminal. Thesecontact springs comprise planar extensions of the sidewalls whichproject forwardly and are reversely bent inwardly and towards therearward end of the terminal in converging relationship to the axisthereof. Two electrical terminals of this type can be mated with eachother by positioning them in opposed inverted relationship and movingthem together so that one contact spring and one sidewall of eachterminal are received between the contact springs of the other terminal.Terminals disclosed can also receive other electrical contact terminalsof types that are commonly used on the present day computer andperipheral computer equipment. A connector housing is also disclosedhaving cavities which are adapted to receive electrical terminals inaccordance with the invention.

5 Claims, 18 Drawing Figures PAIEHTEDW 8km SHEET 2 [IF 7 PM {um um a1915 SHEET 3 OF 7 PAIENTED HA 8191s SHEET 6 [IF 7 ELECTRICAL CONTACTTERMINAL AND CONNECTOR BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This inventionrelates to electrical connectors and electrical contact terminals whichare hermaphroditic and which are also capable of being mated withdissimilar terminals and connectors. The invention is herein disclosedin an embodiment particularly intended for use with present daycomputers and peripheral computer equipment although connectors andterminals in accordance with the invention can be used in other types ofequipment to advantage. In the description which follows, the disclosedembodiment is particularly described with reference to its intended usein computer and peripheral computer equipment.

A typical computer installation of the type which might be used bybusiness, industry, or government comprises a central processor unit(CPU) and selected peripheral equipment in the form ofa tape drive, atape drive controller, or a disk drive and disk drive controller, andadditional equipment such as a key punch verifier. There are at presentseveral manufacturers of central processor units who also manufacturethe required peripheral equipment and there are additional manufacturerswho produce only the peripheral equipment for the central processorunit. Quite often, an installation will be composed of a centralprocessor unit from one manufacturer and will include peripheralequipment which may have been produced by two or three othermanufacturers.

All of the equipment which comprises the computer installation must beelectrically interconnected by large numbers of conductors andmulti-contact electrical connectors are commonly used to form theseconnections. The computer industry has, therefore, standardized to alarge extent on a particular type of connector and contact terminal topermit electrical interfacing among and between the processor units andperipheral equipment of all manufacturers.

It has been recognized in the computer industry for several years thatit would be advantageous if an additional type of electrical terminalwere available for use in the industry for the various units which mustbe electrically interconnected. One requirement of such a connectorwould be that it be hermaphroditic so that if used with two differenttypes of equipment produced by two different manufacturers, the twotypes of equipment could be electrically connected to each other.Another requirement which has been recognized is that a connector andterminal used on computer equipment must be capable of being mated withexisting connectors on existing computer equipment. The instantinvention is directed to the achievement of an improved electricalconnector which will fulfill this need in the industry.

It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide an improvedelectrical contact terminal. It is a further object to provide ahermaphroditic contact terminal which is also capable of being matedwith the dissimilar terminal. A further object is to provide amulti-contact electrical connector which is both hermaphroditic andwhich is capable of being mated with a similar connector havingdissimilar contact terminals therein. It is a further object to providea relatively low cost, high reliability electrical connector suitablefor use with the computers and computer related equipment.

These and other objects of the invention are achieved in a preferredembodiment thereof which is briefly described in the foregoing abstract,which is described in detail below, and which is shown in theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a pair of electrical connectors in accordance withthe invention in alignment with each other and illustrating the mannerin which they are engaged with each other.

FIG. 2A is a view taken along the lines 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the rearward side of one of theconnectors of FIG. 1 with the strain relief plate exploded from theconnector block.

FIG. 4 is a transverse sectional view of the pair of connectors inaccordance with the invention illustrating the manner in which thecontact terminals are mated with each other.

FIG.- 5 is a fragmentary sectional perspective view showing one of thecontact receiving cavities in the connector housing shown in FIGS. 1 and2 and also showing a contact terminal in alignment with the cavitypreparatory to insertion.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the cavity with parts broken away toreveal features of the internal structure thereof.

FIG. 7 is a sectional side view of the cavity shown in FIG. 6.

FIGS. 8 and 9 are views taken along the lines 88 and 99 of FIG. 7.

FIG. 10 is a sectional side view of the cavity of FIG. 5 having acontact terminal mounted therein.

FIG. 11 is a view taken along the lines 11l1 of FIG. 10.

FIG. 11A is a view taken along the lines llA-llA of FIG. 4

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a known type of electrical contactterminal which is commonly used on computers and peripheral equipment.

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary sectional side view of a portion of twoconnectors mated with each other, one of these connectors having contactterminals of the type shown in FIG. 12 therein and the other connectorhaving contact terminals in accordance with the instant inventiontherein.

FIG. 14 is a view taken along the lines l414 of FIG. 13.

FIG. 15 is a sectional side view of a contact terminal in accordancewith the invention mated with a conventional contact blade.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view, similar to FIG. 3, of an alternative formof cable clamp in accordance with the invention.

Referring first to FIGS. 1, 2 and 5, a preferred form of electricalcontact terminal 2 in accordance with the invention is adapted to becrimped onto a wire 18 and inserted into a contact receiving cavity 4 ina connector housing 6. The terminal 2 and the housing 4 ishermaphroditic, as will be described below, so that they can be engagedwith an identical terminal and housing although terminals and housingsin accordance with the invention can also be mated with similar housingshaving dissimilar terminals therein.

Each terminal 2 has a central U-shaped section comprising a web 8 andupstanding sidewalls 10, 12 which extend laterally from the longitudinaledges of the web.

A wire crimp portion 44 extends from the righthand end of the web 8, asviewed in FIG. 5 to secure the terminal to the insulating core of a wireor other conductor 18. Additionally, an insulation crimp 16 is providedin alignment with the wire crimp 14 to provide a strain relief for thewire crimp.

A pair of contact springs 20, 22 extend from the forward end of thesidewalls 10,12, each contact spring comprising a planar extension 24 ofthe sidewall from which it extends. Each spring is reversely bentforwardly of the central U-shaped section as shown at 26 so that the endportion 28 of the spring extends rearwardly between the sidewalls andobliquely towards the axis of the terminal. The opposed surfaces ofthese springs are thus tapered towards each other and will beresiliently flexed away from each other upon insertion of a matingterminal device. Advantageously, the end of the springs are curvedoutwardly as shown at 30 to prevent damage to the contact terminals in acomplementary connector upon coupling and decoupling. It should be notedthat the contact springs 20, 22 have a width which is less than thewidth of the sidewalls l0, 12 so that the sides of the springs arespaced from the lower ends and the upper edges of the sidewalls as isapparent from FIG. 5.

The lefthand end of the terminal as viewed in FIG. 5, the end defined bythe bends 26, is regarded as the forward end and the righthand end onwhich the crimp portion 16 is provided is regarded as being the rearwardend. The portions 28 of the springs thus extend rearwardly and obliquelywith regard to the longitudinal axis of the terminal.

Suitable retention means are provided for retaining the contact terminal2 in a cavity, which is described below, in the form of a lance 34 and ashoulder 32 on the sidewall 12. The lance 34 is struck inwardly from theweb 8 and extends obliquely between the sidewalls 10, 12 and rearwardlytowards the righthand end of the terminal. The shoulder 32 is formed byan ear on the rearward end of sidewall 12 and faces forwardly forengagement with a suitable shoulder in the contact cavity.

The electrical contact terminal 2 of FIG. 5 can be engaged with anidentical terminal by positioning the two terminals in opposed invertedrelationship with respect to each other and with their axes offset sothat one contact spring and one sidewall of each terminal will bereceived between the two contact springs of the other terminal when thetwo terminals are moved towards each other as shown best in FIG. 4. Twomated terminals thus provide three separate areas of electrical contacteach of which is maintained by at least one of the contact springs ofthe terminals. It has been found that a mated pair of electrical contactterminals in accordance with the invention will provide a stable lowresistance electrical connection which is not disturbed by vibration ormechanical shock.

The phrase opposed inverted relationship" as used in the foregoingparagraph is intended to mean that each terminal is inverted top tobottom with respect to the other terminal as viewed in FIG. 4. Itfollows that when two terminals in accordance with the invention aremated with each other, the webs 8 of the terminals small sizes from thinmetal stock. The central channel section is structurally durable andfunctions to protect the contact surfaces of the end portions 28 of thecontact springs. Furthermore, the springs themselves are sized or setwhen the terminal is inserted into a cavity housing as will be describedbelow.

Referring now to FIGS. 4-9, each of the cavities 4 extends through theblock 6 from the rearward face 36 thereof to the mating face 38. Therearward face of each connector has a transverse central rib 42 whichdivides the upper and lower rows of contact receiving cavities so thatthe cavities of each row open into a transverse trough as indicated at40, FIG. 4. Each cavity can be divided, for purposes of description,into a rearward section 44 and a forward section 46 which opens onto themating face 38 of the housing block. The rearward section of each cavityhas top and bottom walls 48, 50 as viewed in FIG. 5 that aresubstantially smooth and uninterrupted. The sidewall 52, shown on theright in FIG. 9, is also substantially smooth and uninterrupted whilethe opposite sidewall 54 has grooves or slots 56,58 extending forwardlyfrom the rearward side of the housing. The slot 56 has a widththroughout its length which is substantially equal to, and slightlygreater than, the thickness of the metal stock from which the contactterminal is formed so that the sidewall 12, of a terminal 2 can bereceived in this slot upon insertion of the terminal into the cavity.The lower slot 58, as viewed in FIG. 7, is relatively wide at itsrighthand end and has a narrower front portion 60 which has a widthequal to, and slightly greater than, the metal stock thickness. Thislower slot 60 ends in a rearwardly facing shoulder 62 (See FIG. 8)against which the forwardly facing shoulder 32 of a terminal is adaptedto move in order to limit leftward movement of the terminal through thecavity. The central portion of the sidewall 54 is substantially flat anda ramp 64 ex tends from the central portion of the wall to the surfaceof the enlarged slot portion 58.

A boss 66 extends outwardly from the central portion of sidewall 54towards the sidewall 52 and provides a forwardly facing surface 67against which the edge of the retention lance 34 bears upon insertion ofthe terminal. It will be apparent from FIGS. 5 and 10 that the rearwardportion of the cavity is thus dimensioned to receive the centralU-shaped portion of the terminal 2 relatively snugly so that the contactsprings will be precisely positioned in the forward portion thereof.

The sidewall 52 of the cavity extends towards the mating face throughthe enlarged frontal section of the cavity and the opposite sidewall 68has a generally L- shaped flat surface which extends rearwardly to thepreviously identified shoulder 62, see FIGS. 7 and 8. A central inclinedramp 70 is provided on sidewall 68 which extends to the level of thesidewalls 54 of the rearward cavity portion. This ramp is provided formolding convenience and efficiency in part and to provide additionalsurface for the sidewall 10 for bearing at its forward end. The forwardportion 46 of the cavity extends laterally beyond the plane of thecavity wall 48 as shown at 74 to permit mating of a terminal in a cavitywith a terminal in a similar cavity in a connector in opposedinvertedrelationship as is apparent from FIG. 4. The'side 68 of theforward portion of the cavity is beveled as shown at 76 and the uppersurface of the cavity is rounded as shown at 78. The beveled surface 76provides a guiding surface for a mating terminal when two connectors areengaged with each other.

Insertion of an individual terminal 2 into a contact receiving cavity 4is accomplished by orienting the terminal as shown in FIG. 5 relative tothe axis of the cavity and moving the terminal leftwardly until theshoulder 32 on the terminal moves against the shoulder 62 in the cavityand until the retention lance 34 snaps over the boss 66 so that itstrailing edge is against the forwardly facing surface 67 of this boss.If the terminal is not properly oriented, it can not be inserted for thereason that the terminal sidewalls must enter the grooves 56,58.

As previously pointed out, the contact springs 20, 22 are more narrowthan the sidewalls 10, 12 of the terminal and extends centrally from theforward ends of the sidewalls so that the sides of the springs arespaced from the web and from the outer edges of the sidewalls. Thisdesign is advantageous in that the leading ends of the springs on theterminals of one connector are not likely to engage the surface of themating face of another connector when the two connectors are coupled asis apparent from FIG. 11. The reduced widths of these springs is alsoimportant for other reasons which are described below.

An advantage of the disclosed cavity and terminal is that the contactsprings 20, 22 are sized or set during insertion as they are moved pastthe boss 66. For example, if the ends of these contact springs should beoverly close to each other, the ends will be forced apart by boss 66during insertion so that they will be properly spaced after insertion.This feature avoids the necessity of sizing or setting the springs whenthe connector is first mated with a complementary connector; setting orsizing of the springs during the first mating is undesirable for thereason that a high coupling force may be required (if the springs areoverly close to each other) and damage to the contact terminals in theconnector or the mating connector may result from the high couplingforce.

The connector block has top and bottom walls as viewed in the drawings,80, 82 and end walls, 84, 86. Mounting ears 88 extend laterally from theend walls and are provided with openings for mounting screws in theevent that connectors should be mounted on a panel or other surface. Atwo section hood 90, 92 extends forwardly from the mating face insurrounding relationship to the cavities the hood sections 90, 92 beingdimensioned such that two identical connectors in accordance with theinvention can be mated with each other when they are in opposed invertedrelationship, top to bottom, as explained above. Upon mating the twoconnectors, the hood section 90 of the one connector will move withinand against the internal surface of the section 92 of the otherconnector.

The reduced widths of the springs permits mating of the connector blocksas explained above and as shown in FIG. 11A. It will be apparent fromFIG. 11A that, on each terminal, these springs must be of reduced widthin order to move past the channel-shaped section of the terminal in thecomplementary connector. The reduced widths are also of importance whena connector having contact terminals as shown in FIG. 12 contained inits cavities as will be explained below.

The center portion 94 of the block does not have contact receivingcavities therein but is rather provided with two circular openings 96,98. The opening 96 has an enlarged forward end in which a threadedbushing 97 is mounted and the opening 98 has an enlarged rearward endwhich opens into the rearward side of the block. A conventional jackscrew extends through the opening 98 and is retained in position by asplit ring washer 101 mounted on the jack screw adjacent to its forwardend. A spring 99 is interposed between the head of the jack screw andthe inner end of the enlarged portion of the hole 98. The threaded endof the jack screw has threads conforming to those of the bushing 97 sothat connectors in accordance with the inven' tion can be coupled toeach other when they are positioned in opposed inverted relationship.

On the rearward side of the block, the sidewall 80 has a projectingflange 100 and the lower sidewall 82 as viewed in FIG. 4 has aprojecting flange 102. The rearward ends of the terminals mounted in thecavities and the adjacent portions of the conductors are thus protectedwithin these two flanges. The lower flange 102 on the sidewall 82 mergeswith a relatively thick section of this sidewall through an inclinedsurface 118 which cooperates with a strain relief described immediatelybelow.

The disclosed form of strain relief, which clamps the conductors 18against the housing, is in the form of a flat plate 104 having a flange106 on one side thereof. A central notch 108 is provided on the sideopposite to the flange for the accomodation of the jack screw asdescribed above and openings are provided at each for fasteners 110.Additionally, a central square opening is punched in the plate 104 whichis adapted to receive a boss 114 on the internal surface of the flange100. The dimensions of the boss and the dimensions of the openings aresuch that the plate will loosely pivot with respect to the boss when itis positioned thereon. The clamping plate is assembled to the housing bylocating the boss 1 14 in the hole 1 12, swinging the plate towards thehousing so that the conductors are clamped against the rounded surface118, inserting the screws 110 through the openings and threading thescrews into bushings 111 provided in the corresponding corners of thehousing.

As an alternative to the clamping plate mounting arrangement shown inFIG. 3, the clamping plate can be provided with ears 146 on the lefthandside as viewed in FIG. 16 which are adapted to extend into recesses 148in the housing block to loosely pivot the clamping plate to the rearwardend of the housing. As with the previously described embodiment, theclamping plate is secured to the housing by the fasteners 1 10.

The disclosed form of housing block is commonly used in the computer artas described above and is provided on numerous types of computerequipment, both central processor units and peripheral equipment. Itfollows that if connectors of the type shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 andterminals of the type described above are mounted in the connector, anytwo pieces of equipment can be coupled to each other.

Terminals in accordance with the invention are also adapted to be matedwith dissimilar terminals which have contact portions adapted to extendbetween the contact spring 20, 22. One such terminal as shown in FIGS.12-14 is fully disclosed in claimed in US. Pat. No. 3,208,030. Aterminal 120 of this type comprises an L-shaped frame section having asidewall 122 and a base 124.,A retention lance 126 is struck from thebase to engage the retention shoulder in a suitable cavity to preventextraction of the terminal from the cavity while forward movement of theterminal through the cavity is prevented by a laterally extending car140 on the wall 122. The contact portion of the terminal 120 comprisesan extension 128 of the base portion 124 which is of reduced width andwhich is reversely bent at 130 to define a rearwardly extending leaf132. This leaf is again reversely bent adjacent to the rearward end ofthe frame section 122, 124 to define a forwardly and slightly downwardlyextending leaf 136 which is upwardly directed at its end as shown at138. A conventional crimp barrel means 142 are provided on the lefthandside of the terminal as viewed in FIG. 12 of the terminal to permitattachment to an electrical conductor.

Terminals of the type shown in FIG. 12 can be mated with each other bypositioning two such terminals in opposed inverted relationship withtheir axes offset and moving them towards each other so that the upperleaf member 136 to each terminal bears against the underside of the baseportion 124 of the other terminal. The base portion and the leaf member132 of each terminal will then extend between the upper leaf 136 and thecenter section 132 of the other terminal as fully explained in the aboveidentified US. Pat. No. 3,208,030.

Contact terminals in accordance with the instant invention can be matedwith terminals of the type shown at 120 in FIG. 12 by positioning thetwo terminals in opposed relationship such that the reverse bend 130 ofthe terminal 120 is in alignment with the axes of the terminal 2 and theupper leaf 136 of the terminal 120 is in alignment with the sidewall ofthe terminal 2. When the two terminals are thus positioned,the web 8 ofthe terminal 2 will be on the opposite side of the terminal pair fromthe wall 122 of the terminal 120. Upon movement of the two terminalstowards each other, the central leaf 132 and portions of the lowercentral section 124 of terminal 120 will be received between the contactsprings 20, 22 of the terminal 2 and the leaf spring 136 of the terminal120 will bear against the external surface 24 of the contact springadjacent to the sidewall 10. As best shown in FIG. 14, the reducedwidths of the springs of the terminal 2 provide clearance for thesidewall 122 of the terminal 120 so that the springs can move into thehousing in which the terminal 120 is contained.

As is apparent from FIG. 13, three separate areas of contact between theterminal 120 and the terminal 2 are provided, and each contact area ismaintained by the resilient force ofa spring member.

The contact receiving cavity shown in FIGS. 13 for terminals of the typeshown in FIG. 12 has a somewhat different interior configuration thanthe contact receiving cavity adapted for terminals of the type shown at2 however, the contact terminals in accordance with the instantinvention can be manufactured with dimensions such that the same numberof cavities are provided in two connector blocks and at the samespacings so that the two blocks can be mated with each other even thoughone of the blocks has terminals of the type therein and the other blockhas terminals of the type shown at 2 therein. It follows that any typeof computer equipment provided with connectors having either of the twotypes of terminals therein can be electrically coupled to any otherpiece "dr computer equipment having one of the two types of terminals inits connectOlS.

An electrical connector in accordance with the invention, containingterminals in accordance with the invention, can also be mated with aconnector having contact pins or blade type contact terminals therein asshown in FIG. 15. The blade terminal 144 is received between the opposedcontact surfaces of the contact springs 20, 22 and should have athickness which is sufficient to deflect the springs as indicated toestablish contact force at the interface. The terminals 144 may bemounted in any suitable housing which will mate with the housing inwhich the terminals 2 are mounted.

Changes in construction will occur to those skilled in the art andvarious apparently different modifications and embodiments may be madewithout departing from the scope of the invention. The matter set forthin the foregoing description and accompanying drawings is offered by wayof illustration only.

We claim:

1. A multi-contact electrical connector comprising an insulating housinghaving a plurality of discrete contact receiving cavities extendingtherethrough from the rearward face thereof to the mating face thereof,each of said cavities having an electrical contact terminal therein,each of said contact tenninals comprising:

a substantially flat web having sidewalls extending from thelongitudinal edges thereof, I means on said terminal at one end of saidweb securing said terminal to a conductor,

a pair of contact springs on said terminal at the other end thereof,each of said springs comprising an extension of one of saidsidewalls,each of said springs extending from its respective sidewalland being reversely bent inwardly towards the other one of said springs,said springs having end portions extending rearwardly of said terminalon opposite sides of the axis thereof,

said springs having a width which is less than the width of saidsidewalls, and the side edges of said springs being spaced from theedges of said sidewalls and from said web,

each of said terminals having its web and sidewalls disposed in one ofsaid cavities and having portions of its contact springs extendingforwardly beyond said mating face whereby, said connector can be coupledto a complementary connector having contact terminals therein that havecontact portions adapted to be received between the opposed surfaces ofsaid contact springs of said connector.

2. A connector as set forth in claim 1 wherein said connector contains aplurality of rows of said cavities.

3. A pair of substantially identical connectors, said connectors beingcoupled to each other, each of said connectors comprising:

an insulating housing having at least one contact receiving cavityextending therethrough from its rearward face to its mating face,

an electrical contact terminal in said cavity, said terminal comprisinga substantially flat web having sidewalls extending from the edgesthereof, means on said terminal at one end of said web securing saidterminal to a conductor,

a pair of contact springs on said terminal at the other end thereof,each of said springs comprising an extension of one of said sidewalls,each of said springs extending from its respective sidewall and beingreversely bent inwardly towards the other one of said springs, saidsprings having end portions extending rearwardly of said terminal onopposite sides of the axis thereof,

said springs having a width which is less than the width of saidsidewalls, and the side edges of said springs being spaced from theedges of said sidewalls and from said web,

said web and sidewalls being disposed in said cavity and said springsextending forwardly beyond said mating face,

said cavity having a laterally extending enlarged portion adjacent to,and opening into, said mating face,

the two connectors of said pair being coupled to each other in opposedinverted relationship with respect to each other with one contact springand one sidewall of each of said terminals being received between theopposed surfaces of the contact springs of the other terminal.

4. An electrical connector comprising an insulating block having acontact-receiving cavity extending therethrough from the rearward facethereof to the mating face, and a terminal in said cavity, said terminalcomprising a web having sidewalls extending from the longitudinal edgesthereof, said web and sidewalls defining a U-shaped cross-section,

means at one end of said terminal extending from said web for securingsaid terminal to a conductor,

a pair of contact springs extending from said terminal at the other endthereof, each of said contact springs comprising an extension of one ofsaid sidewalls, each of said extensions projecting beyond said web andbeing reversely bent and having end portions extending inwardly towardssaid web and between said sidewalls, the end portions of said contactsprings converging towards the axis of said terminal and said springshaving a width which is less than the width of said sidewalls, and theside edges of said springs being spaced from the edges of said sidewallsand from said web,

a retaining lance struck from said web, said lance extending obliquelyrearwardly between said sidewalls,

said cavity having:

a first rectangular cross-sectional portion extending inwardly from saidrearward face, a first pair of opposed walls of said first portion beingspaced-apart by a distance equal to the spacing between said sidewalls,said sidewalls being against said first pair of opposed cavity walls, asecond pair of opposed sidewalls which are spaced apart by a distanceless than the height of said sidewalls, groove extending through saidblock and openin into one of said secon pair of opposed sidewa along thesides thereof, the marginal edge portions of said sidewalls beingreceived in said grooves,

a boss extending from said one of said second opposed sidewalls defininga forward facing shoulder, said lance being against said boss to retainsaid terminal in said cavity,

a second rectangular portion of said cavity extending inwardly from saidmating face, said second rectangular portion being enlarged on one sidethereof which is in alignment with one of said second sides of saidfirst rectangular section,

said contact springs extending through said second rectangular portionand beyond said mating face whereby said connector can be coupled withan identical connector in opposed reversed relationship to saidconnector.

5. A connector housing having at least one contact receiving cavityextending therethrough from its rearward face to its mating face, saidcavity being adapted to receive an electrical contact terminal of thetype comprising a web having sidewalls extending from the longitudinaledge thereof, a rearwardly directed retention lance struck from saidweb, a pair of contact springs extending forwardly from said sidewalls,said contact springs being reversely bent inwardly and extendingrearwardly between said sidewalls, said cavity comprising:

a first rectangular cross sectional portion extending inwardly from saidrearward face, a first pair of opposed walls of said first portion beingspaced-apart by a distance equal to the spacing between said sidewalls,of said terminal said sidewalls being against said first pair of opposedcavity walls, a second pair of opposed sidewalls, which are spaced apartby a distance less than the height of said sidewalls, grooves extendingthrough said block and opening into one of said second pair of opposedsidewalls along the sides thereof, the marginal edge portions of saidsidewalls of said terminal being adapted to bear against said boss toretain said terminal in said cavity,

a second rectangular portion of said cavity extending inwardly from saidmating face, said second rectangular portion being enlarged on one sidethereof which is in alignment with one of said second sides of saidfirst rectangular section whereby said terminal can be inserted intosaid cavity from said rearward face of said housing upon movement ofsaid terminal through said cavity and movement of edge portions of saidsidewalls into said grooves until said lance snaps over, and lodgesagainst, said boss.

i t t i I

1. A multi-contact electrical connector comprising an insulating housinghaving a plurality of discrete contact receiving cavities extendingtherethrough from the rearward face thereof to the mating face thereof,each of said cavities having an electrical contact terminal therein,each of said contact terminals comprising: a substantially flat webhaving sidewalls extending from the longitudinal edges thereof, means onsaid terminal at one end of said web securing said terminal to aconductor, a pair of contact springs on said terminal at the other endthereof, each of said springs comprising an extension of one of saidsidewalls,each of said springs extending from its respective sidewalland being reversely bent inwardly towards the other one of said springs,said springs having end portions extending rearwardly of said terminalon opposite sides of the axis thereof, said springs having a width whichis less than the width of said sidewalls, and the side edges of saidsprings being spaced from the edges of said sidewalls and from said web,each of said terminals having its web and sidewalls disposed in one ofsaid cavities and having portions of its contact springs extendingforwardly beyond said mating face whereby, said connector can be coupledto a complementary connector having contact terminals therein that havecontact portions adapted to be received between the opposed surfaces ofsaid contact springs of said connector.
 2. A connector as set forth inclaim 1 wherein said connector contains a plurality of rows of saidcavities.
 3. A pair of substantially identical connectors, saidconnectors being coupled to each other, each of said connectorscomprising: an insulating housing having at least one contact receivingcavity extending therethrough from its rearward face to its mating face,an electrical contact terminal in said cavity, said terminal comprisinga substantially flat web having sidewalls extending from the edgesthereof, means on said terminal at one end of said web securing saidterminal to a conductor, a pair of contact springs on said terminal atthe other end thereof, each of said springs comprising an extension ofone of said sidewalls, each of said springs extending from itsrespective sidewall and being reversely bent inwardly towards the otherone of said springs, said springs having end portions extendingrearwardly of said terminal on opposite sides of the axis thereof, saidsprings having a width which is less than the width of said sidewalls,and the side edges of said springs being spaced from the edges of saidsidewalls and from said web, said web and sidewalls being disposed insaid cavity and said springs extending forwardly beyond said matingface, said cavity having a laterally extending enlarged portion adjacentto, and opening into, said mating face, the two connectors of said pairbeing coupled to each other in opposed inverted relationship withrespect to each other with one contact spring and one sidewall of eachof said terminals being received between the opposed surfaces of thecontact springs of the other terminal.
 4. An electrical connectorcomprising an insulating block having a contact-receiving cavityextending therethrough from the rearward face thereof to the matingface, and a terminal in said cavity, said terminal comprising a webhaving sidewalls extending from the longitudinal edges thereof, said weband sidewalls defining a U-shaped cross-section, means at one end ofsaid terminal extending from said web for securing said terminal to aconductor, a pair of contact springs extending from said terminal at theother end thereof, each of said contact springs comprising an extensionof one of said sidewalls, each of said extensions projecting beyond saidweb and being reversely bent and having end portions extending inwardlytowards said web and between said sidewalls, the end portions of saidcontact springs converging towards the axis of said terminal and saidsprings having a width which is less than the width of said sidewalls,and the side edges of said springs being spaced from the edges of saidsidewalls and from said web, a retaining lance struck from said web,said lance extending obliquely rearwardly between said sidewalls, saidcavity having: a first rectangular cross-sectional portion extendinginwardly from said rearward face, a first pair of opposed walls of saidfirst portion being spaced-apart by a distance equal to the spacingbetween said sidewalls, said sidewalls being against said first pair ofopposed cavity walls, a second pair of opposed sidewalls which arespaced apart by a distance less than the height of said sidewalls,groove extending through said block and opening into one of said secondpair of opposed sidewalls along the sides thereof, the marginal edgeportions of said sidewalls being received in said grooves, a bossextending from said one of said second opposed sidewalls defining aforward facing shoulder, said lance being against said boss to retainsaid terminal in said cavity, a second rectangular portion of saidcavity extending inwardly from said mating face, said second rectangularportion being enlarged on oNe side thereof which is in alignment withone of said second sides of said first rectangular section, said contactsprings extending through said second rectangular portion and beyondsaid mating face whereby said connector can be coupled with an identicalconnector in opposed reversed relationship to said connector.
 5. Aconnector housing having at least one contact receiving cavity extendingtherethrough from its rearward face to its mating face, said cavitybeing adapted to receive an electrical contact terminal of the typecomprising a web having sidewalls extending from the longitudinal edgethereof, a rearwardly directed retention lance struck from said web, apair of contact springs extending forwardly from said sidewalls, saidcontact springs being reversely bent inwardly and extending rearwardlybetween said sidewalls, said cavity comprising: a first rectangularcross sectional portion extending inwardly from said rearward face, afirst pair of opposed walls of said first portion being spaced-apart bya distance equal to the spacing between said sidewalls, of said terminalsaid sidewalls being against said first pair of opposed cavity walls, asecond pair of opposed sidewalls, which are spaced apart by a distanceless than the height of said sidewalls, grooves extending through saidblock and opening into one of said second pair of opposed sidewallsalong the sides thereof, the marginal edge portions of said sidewalls ofsaid terminal being adapted to bear against said boss to retain saidterminal in said cavity, a second rectangular portion of said cavityextending inwardly from said mating face, said second rectangularportion being enlarged on one side thereof which is in alignment withone of said second sides of said first rectangular section whereby saidterminal can be inserted into said cavity from said rearward face ofsaid housing upon movement of said terminal through said cavity andmovement of edge portions of said sidewalls into said grooves until saidlance snaps over, and lodges against, said boss.